Rust

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Rust reveals a pronounced sensitivity to resolution, but the pattern is not uniform across all settings presets. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER delivers 138 FPS average. Dropping to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset reduces that figure to 95 FPS, a 31% decrease. Moving further to 3840x2160 yields 56 FPS, which represents another 41% drop from the 1440p resultociative. This steep scaling curve at Low settings suggests the GPU is becoming progressively more saturated as pixel count increases, while the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames at the lower resolutions.

The Medium preset shows a similar but slightly less aggressive scaling trend. At 1080p Medium, the average is 92 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it falls to 64 FPS, a 30% reduction; and at 4K Medium, it reaches 38 FPS, a 41% drop from the 1440p figure. The High preset demonstrates the most linear progression: 78 FPS at 1080p, 54 FPS at 1440p (31% lower), and 32 FPS at 4K (41% lower than 1440p). Ultra settings follow the same trajectory with 59 FPS at 1080p, 41 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all four presets is notable. Each step from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 30% of performance, and each step from 1440p to 4K costs roughly 41% of the remaining performance. This uniformity indicates that the limiting component remains the same throughout the resolution range — the GPU. If the CPU were the primary constraint, we would expect to see diminishing FPS penalties at higher resolutions as the GPU becomes the bottleneck, but the data shows the opposite trend with steeper drops at 4K.

The spread between Low and Ultra at each resolution further confirms GPU-bound behavior. At 1080p, the gap between Low (138 FPS) and Ultra (59 FPS) is 79 FPS, a 57% performance penalty for maxing out settings. At 1440p, that gap narrows to 54 FPS (95 vs 41), and at 4K it narrows to 32 FPS (56 vs 24). This compression of the settings range at higher resolutions is the classic signature of a GPU that is already heavily loaded — the additional shading work from higher presets becomes relatively less impactful when the resolution itself is already consuming most of the GPU's throughput.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of CPU and GPU achieves a combo rank of 2640 out of 3723 tested combinations for Rust. This places the combo in roughly the 29th percentile of all tested pairings, meaning about 71% of combos tested in this game deliver higher average FPS. Given that the GPU sits at the 62nd percentile among all GPUs and the CPU at the 89th percentile among all CPUs, this ranking reflects a significant imbalance — the processor is far more capable than the graphics card, and Rust's performance is being held back by the GPU in most scenarios.

The CPU's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarking provide context for its capability. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 posts an average benchmark score of 46062, which is within 0.2% of the AMD EPYC 4364P (45970) and the AMD EPYC 7303 (45960). It sits marginally ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46030, +0.1%) and marginally behind the Intel Core i9-13900HX (46098, -0.1%). These deltas are negligible, placing the Ultra 5 235 in a performance tier shared with these high-end desktop and mobile processors.

On the GPU side, the RTX 2060 SUPER averages 18093 in benchmark scores, which is 0.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (18159) and 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (18189). It sits 1.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 460 (18373) and 1.6% ahead of the Intel Arc A770M (18383) in the reverse direction — wait, the deltaPct values indicate the rival's score relative to this GPU. The RTX 2060 SUPER trails the RTX 3060 Mobile by 0.4%, trails the Radeon Pro 5700 by 0.5%, trails the RX 460 by 1.5%, and trails the Arc A770M by 1.6%. The GPU is clustered tightly with these alternatives, all within a 1.6% band.

The ranking disparity between the GPU's 62nd percentile standing and the combo's 29th percentile position in Rust suggests that Rust is particularly demanding on the graphics subsystem relative to other games in the database. A combo ranked at 2640 out of 3723 is below what the individual component percentiles would predict, indicating that Rust's rendering workload punishes mid-range GPUs more severely than average.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the TU106 chip using a 12 nm process from TSMC, packing 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die. Its memory configuration is 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1470 MHz and boosts to 1650 MHz, with memory running at an effective 14 Gbps. The shading workload is handled by 2176 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, along with 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores.

In Rust, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the tested settings — there are no reported out-of-memory issues in the measured data. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is likely a contributing factor to the performance scaling observed across resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 24 FPS average, which points to the GPU being completely saturated. The texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s are the raw throughput limits that constrain high-resolution, high-detail rendering.

The RTX 2060 SUPER's FP32 throughput of 7.181 TFLOPS places it in the mid-range of GPUs, and the benchmark results show it performing as expected for that compute level. The GPU's 62nd percentile standing among all GPUs means it outperforms approximately 62% of the database's graphics cards. However, in Rust specifically, the measured FPS data indicates that this GPU is the primary bottleneck across all resolutions and settings. The fact that the 4K Low preset (56 FPS) barely exceeds the 1080p Ultra preset (59 FPS) is revealing — the GPU spends its performance budget on either resolution or visual fidelity, but cannot deliver both simultaneously.

The passmark G3D score of 16462 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2011 provide synthetic reference points. The DirectX 12 passmark score of 61 and DirectX 11 score of 130 indicate that the GPU's performance varies significantly by API, though Rust's specific API usage is not detailed in the data. The GPU's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 ensures compatibility with modern rendering paths.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. The Low preset achieves 138 FPS average, which is the highest measured FPS in the entire dataset. Medium settings produce 92 FPS average with a minimum of 79 and maximum of 106 FPS. High settings yield 78 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 59 FPS. The 1080p results show a clear gradient: each step from Low to Medium to High to Ultra costs roughly 46, 14, and 19 FPS respectively, with the largest single drop occurring between Low and Medium.

At 2560x1440, the performance envelope compresses. Low settings deliver 95 FPS average, which remains playable but is 43 FPS below the 1080p Low figure. Medium averages 64 FPS with a range of 54 to 73 FPS, High averages 54 FPS, and Ultra averages 41 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 54 FPS, compared to 79 FPS at 1080p. The Medium preset at 1440p (64 FPS) is nearly identical to the High preset at 1080p (78 FPS) in terms of the overall performance envelope, though the minimum FPS at 1440p Medium (54) is lower than the 1080p High average.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain smooth framerates. Low settings average 56 FPS, which is marginally playable but below the 60 FPS threshold for most competitive scenarios. Medium averages 38 FPS with a range of 32 to 43 FPS. High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra falls to 24 FPS. The 4K results demonstrate that this GPU cannot sustain high refresh rates at this resolution regardless of settings — even the Low preset, which represents the minimum graphical load, only achieves 56 FPS.

The complete dataset shows that the sweet spot for this combo is 1080p with Medium to High settings, where the average FPS ranges from 78 to 92, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The 1440p Medium preset (64 FPS) is the only 1440p configuration that exceeds 60 FPS average. All 4K presets fall below 60 FPS, with even the Low preset (56 FPS) missing the mark.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset at 92 FPS average offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with a minimum of 79 FPS ensuring no significant dips below smooth gameplay. The High preset at 78 FPS is also viable, but the 14 FPS drop from Medium to High may not justify the visual improvements, particularly given that the Medium preset maintains a higher minimum FPS.

For users targeting 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 64 FPS average is the only option that clears the 60 FPS threshold, with a minimum of 54 FPS that remains acceptable. The Low preset at 95 FPS is technically smoother but sacrifices substantial visual fidelity. The High preset at 54 FPS and Ultra at 41 FPS are below the 60 FPS target and would likely result in noticeable stutter during intense gameplay moments.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The Low preset at 56 FPS is closest, and it is the only 4K configuration that provides a playable experience, though users may need to accept some compromises in visual quality. The Medium preset at 38 FPS and High at 32 FPS are marginal, while Ultra at 24 FPS is not recommended for any gameplay scenario.

The data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with Medium to High settings, or 1440p gaming with Medium settings. The 4K resolution is beyond the practical capabilities of this GPU within Rust, and users prioritizing 4K should consider a more powerful graphics card. The 1080p Medium preset offers the best combination of average FPS, minimum FPS consistency, and visual quality based on the measured rows.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. It operates at a base clock of 3.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, and has a TDP of 65 W. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth.

In Rust, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU given the resolution scaling data. The consistent 30% FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p and 41% drop from 1440p to 4K across all settings presets indicates GPU-bound performance. However, the CPU's strong benchmark scores suggest it is not the constraint in most scenarios. The PassMark multithread score of 37816 and single-thread score of 4516 place it at the 89th percentile among all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 89% of processors in the database.

The CPU's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarking are all high-end processors. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 scores 46030, essentially identical to the Ultra 5 235's 46062. The Intel Core i9-13900HX scores 46098, also within 0.1%. The AMD EPYC 4364P and 7303 score 45970 and 45960 respectively, all within a 0.2% band. This clustering indicates that the Ultra 5 235 delivers performance on par with these established processors.

The CPU's Cinebench results demonstrate its capability: Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14769 and single-core score of 2085, Cinebench R20 multicore of 6202 and single-core of 875, and Cinebench R15 multicore of 1488 and single-core of 210. The PassMark physics score of 2570 and floating point math score of 117951 further illustrate the processor's computational strength.

Given that Rust is a game that can be CPU-intensive in certain scenarios — particularly with many entities on screen or complex server logic — the Ultra 5 235's 14 cores and 14 threads provide substantial headroom. The 5.00 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-threaded performance, which is often critical for game logic and physics calculations. However, the measured FPS data indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor in this combo, so the CPU's capability is not fully utilized in most of the tested configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Rust?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 with Medium settings provides the best experience at 92 FPS average with a minimum of 79 FPS. At 2560x1440, only the Medium preset exceeds 60 FPS at 64 FPS average, while all 3840x2160 presets fall below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 18093, which is 0.4% behind the RTX 3060 Mobile (18159) and 0.5% behind the Radeon Pro 5700 (18189). It trails the Radeon RX 460 by 1.5% and the Arc A770M by 1.6% in the same benchmark.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 a high-performance CPU?

A: The CPU ranks at the 89th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 46062. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-13900HX, scores 46098, a difference of only 0.1%, indicating the Ultra 5 235 is in the top tier of processors.

Q: Why does the combo rank lower than individual component percentiles suggest?

A: The combo ranks 2640 out of 3723 tested combinations in Rust, while the GPU is at the 62nd percentile and CPU at the 89th percentile. The data suggests Rust's rendering workload is particularly demanding on the GPU, making the graphics card the primary bottleneck.

Q: What FPS can be expected at 4K with this combo?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 56 FPS, Medium averages 38 FPS, High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 24 FPS. No 4K preset reaches 60 FPS, making 4K gaming challenging with this combination.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 78 at 1920x1080 to 54 at 2560x1440, a 31% reduction. The same percentage drop is observed across all settings presets, indicating GPU-bound scaling behavior.